SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah, April 27, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A male and a female suspect were arrested Wednesday after police say they used a stolen gun to rob a business, then drove recklessly from the scene.
At about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, a male gunman wearing a black mask entered Wasatch Metal Recycling, 205 W. 3300 South, according to a news release from the South Salt Lake Police Department.
The man went around the counter, pointed a silver pistol at a female employee, and told her to “Get out of the way,” according to the SSLPD statement.
“The gunman grabbed the cash box that slipped out of hand, spilling the contents onto the floor,’ the SSLPD statement says. “The bandit dropped to the floor, picked up an undisclosed amount of cash and ran out the door and to a waiting silver vehicle on 3300 South. The suspect vehicle sped away eastbound of 3300 South, then turned south on West Temple.”
As the armed robbery was being dispatched, calls were also coming in reporting a reckless female driver in a silver Pontiac G6.
Police responded to Wasatch Metal Recycling and flooded the area searching for the suspect vehicle. The South Salt Lake Police news release says that the suspect vehicle traveled south into Murray, where Murray Police detectives were working on a case involving a stolen handgun.
When the silver Pontiac G6 stopped at a residence in Murray, the female driver and male passenger were detained by Murray Police detectives. The male and female were identified as suspects in both the South Salt Lake armed robbery and the case Murray Police were investigating, and had been in a silver car matching the description of the one driven recklessly.
The suspects were identified as Duston B. Neilson and Erika P. Lighthall, both 30, Caucasion, and residents of Murray.
Both suspects were arrested without incident and booked into the Salt Lake County Adult Detention Center.
Neilson was charged with aggravated robbery, possession of firearm by a restricted person, and other unrelated charges. Lighthall was charged with aggravated robbery.
